Local American Youth Soccer Organization player McKinlee Brewer shared the team lead in goals scored as the Verde Valley Soccer Sisters won the Red Mountain Invitational in Mesa on April 10.
Brewer — whose mother, co-coach Brittney Brewer, works in Sedona — and Nellie Maynard each scored three goals to lead the Sisters, a traveling soccer team comprised of the best 8- to 10-year-old girls from Clarkdale and Rimrock as well as Camp Verde, Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek, to a 2-0 win in the championship over the Ahwatukee Thunderbolts.
“This high-scoring team generated 12 goals during the tournament,” said Mark Tufte, father of Sisters player Selin Tufte, 10, who played through injury April 16 and 17 at the Mile High Invitational. “We put together one big game — our third game — in that tournament, in which we scored seven goals, but we didn’t place in that tournament.”
Village of Oak Creek player Malia Kincaid received two sportsmanship awards from the tournament, whose highlight was a shootout win April 10 over the Mesa Supernova after the game ended in a tie.
Brewer, Maynard, Anyssa Pineda and Alyssa Wheeler were selected for the shootout by Brittney Brewer and co-coach Jill Maynard, and they responded with four penalty kick goals.
Sisters goalkeeper Elena Perez was up to the challenge, allowing just two of the first four Supernova players to score to secure the Sisters’ spot in the title game, which they would win by shutout over the Thunderbolts.
But Anyssa Pineda’s broken arm, and Makela Martinez’s illness, was too much for the Sisters to place in the Prescott tournament after the Sisters were at full strength in the Red Mountain Invitational.
“During the tournament, several players played through injuries,” Tufte said. “Selin suffered a sprain during the tournament that put her on crutches. Elena was kneed in the throat. Alyssa was nursing a hurt ankle.”
Online registration for the AYSO fall season is now open to children ages 5 through 14 years old. Cost includes an AYSO membership, uniform, official magazine and supplemental accident insurance. A $10 early registration discount is available in-person through Wednesday, June 15. In-person registration is available for first-time players, volunteers or those who prefer to pay with cash or check from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the next four Saturdays.
